It's been 17 years since Korea made a run to the finals of the World Baseball Classic and their trips to the tournament since then have all ended in premature disappointment. The quest to emerge out of Pool C and earn a plane ride to Miami as one of the quarterfinalists got off to a great start on Thursday against Czechia.
Bo Gyeong Moon put things out of reach immediately with a grand slam in the first inning to give Korea a 4-0 lead. It turned out to be the first of four long balls blasted by the potent lineup as Shay Whitcomb hit two and Jahmai Jones added one of his own in an 11-4 victory.
Moon and his teammates had ample opportunity to show off their preferred celebration for the WBC, which reflects their high hope.
It features the players doing the time-tested and kid-approved art of pretending to be a plane while out on the basepaths.
And after every homer in the opener, the hitter was flying appropriately high.
Bo Gyeong Moon and Team Korea are off to a fast start at the #WorldBaseballClassic! https://t.co/lg1bMY3nsA pic.twitter.com/WDpATVGqCm
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 5, 2026
ANOTHER HOME RUN FOR SHAY WHITCOMB!
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 5, 2026
Korea now leads 8-3! 🇰🇷 pic.twitter.com/12mTUmyw1J
Jahmai Jones makes it 11-3 Korea with a solo homer! 🇰🇷
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 5, 2026
📺: FS1 pic.twitter.com/jVpZR7W0Fh
So what's this all about?
Turns out it's a nod to the wonderful wide world of transportation. Korea is aiming to finish as one of the top two teams in Pool C and earn a plane ride to Miami for the knockout portion of the proceedings. They settled on doing plane arms instead of making an "M" with their hands for Miami.
Infielder Si Hwan Roh is being credited with coming up with the celebration and getting the team to adopt it.
"He was the one who first brought this up when some of our veteran guys asked us to come up with something," Kim said through interpreter Eugene Koo. "In the first [exhibition] game, we had an option to do either one of those. So some guys did the 'M,' some guys did [the airplane]. Before the second game, we had to make a decision on what we're gonna stick with. So, it's thanks to Roh for that."
These are the important decisions teams need to make when they're competing on the international stage. Everyone must be on the same page when it comes to merriment otherwise there wouldn't be continuity.
Up next for Korea is a game against the Japanese hosts on Saturday, followed by Chinese Taipei on a quick turnaround. Their final pool play action comes against Australia, which also posted a win in their opener against Chinese Taipei.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Korea's Unique World Baseball Classic Home Run Celebration Is a Frequent Flier.
